Leanne Falkner, Registered Dietitian

WORK BETTER

Photo of Leanne in front of flowers

Leanne Falkner is a Registered Dietitian (RD) and has been working at PRHC for 15 years. With experience in dialysis, inpatient medicine, and cardiac rehab, Leanne currently supports patients in Cancer Care. When asked about her day-to-day responsibilities, Leanne said she loves that every day is different.

“My time is split between meeting with patients in Cancer Care before their treatments, in the chemotherapy suite during their treatments, or on the phone doing consultations.”

Day to day responsibilities of an oncology RD, include:

  • Reviewing referrals
  • Booking appointments with patients
  • Doing full nutrition assessments for new patients; reviewing their diagnosis, procedures or interventions they may have had that will impact their nutrition
  • Reviewing bloodwork
  • Speaking with the patient about their nutrition concerns
  • Getting a full diet history – when they eat, what foods they eat, what foods they like and dislike, who prepares meals etc.
  • Lots of teaching. Using information gathered during the assessment and developing a plan with patients and families, then teaching what they can do with their diet using the foods they like to help improve their symptoms or meet their nutrition goals.

One of the most common questions Leanne gets is what foods to eat and what foods to avoid during cancer treatment. Leanne guides patients on how to stay well-nourished when having fatigue, nausea and lack of appetite during cancer treatments. By getting to know her patients, Leanne is able to work with them to come up with ideas and suggestions that will work in real life.

“I really enjoy the assessment and treatment of diseases that lead to malabsorption of nutrients and nutritional deficiencies. Being part of an outpatient clinic allows me the ability to follow up with patients, make changes as needed and evaluate the success of their plans,” says Leanne.

LIVE BETTER

“I love watching my kids play sports. I have two kids who have played a number of competitive sports over the years from hockey to soccer and lacrosse. Both play hockey, one for Peterborough Ice Kats and the other for Peterborough Minor Petes and now Junior A hockey. I spend a lot of time in hockey rinks in the winter and have made lifelong friendships with other hockey moms and dads.”

“In the summer my favourite things to do are hitting the farmers markets on Saturday morning to load up on local produce and the occasional baked good or bag of perogies, and spending time at the lake swimming and watching fantastic sunsets.”